Council announces £100,000 funding for youth projects in Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton Council has announced the recipients of funding which will enable the development of projects to help young people into employment, training and learning.
The City Ideas Fund offers a one-off grant of between £500 and £10,000, which employers, voluntary organisations, community groups, and individuals can apply for to support their youth projects.
Seven applicants have secured money through the second round of funding to help reduce the number of unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds in the city, of which there were 2,660 in November.
An initial pot of £100,000 is available to fund ideas, with plans being put in place to increase this following a wave of innovative project proposals.
The following groups have secured funding:
Amaze Clothing Co Ltd has been awarded £7,412 for Fabric Workshop - aimed at teaching young people how to operate industrial sewing machines to create clothing from fabrics that would otherwise go to landfill.
Access to Business has received £10,000 for ‘Young Business Matter - Social Enterprise’ to enable young people to explore enterprise or self-employment as their route to work and discover the wide range of contracted/self-employment opportunities available to them.
TLC College has been granted £8,936 for ‘Allrounders – Cricket & Employability (ACE)’ to recognise skills through IAGs, CVs, Mentoring, Team/Confidence Building.
YMCA Black Country Group has been awarded £10,000 for ‘The Wolves Den’ - a Dragons’ Den style approach to move young people away from unemployment and into self-employment.
Wildside Activity Centre has received £8,585 for ‘Nature Works’ - a 12-week programme incorporating two six-week conservation projects, a targeted curriculum of employment and conservation education and bespoke one-to-one support for six individuals.
Wolverhampton Community Radio Training Ltd has been granted £9,900 for media training for skills and confidence development - accredited training for 18-24-year-old young people that will increase interpersonal skills, confidence and prepare beneficiaries for the workplace, college or university.
Aspiring Futures (CIC) has been awarded £9,552 for ‘Young Entrepreneurs’, which will see the recruitment of ten young women who are not in education, training or employment to participate in 15 weeks of interactive and creative sessions conducted by inspirational women, to improve participants’ self-image, confidence and their perception of their own limits and aspirations.
Council deputy chief executive, Mark Taylor, said: “We’ve been impressed by the latest round of applicants to the City Ideas Fund and we believe these projects will make a big difference to young people in our city.
“It is a great response to our call to action for a one city approach to tackling the issue of youth unemployment.
“We need disruptive thinking, we need to shake things up – because all our best efforts to reduce youth unemployment to date, have not been enough.
“The City Ideas Fund provides funding to stimulate fresh thinking and the funding awards so far are just the start, with more funding to come.”
Further applications are currently being reviewed and new projects to receive funding will be announced in the coming weeks.
Successful applicants are chosen by an independent panel made up of representative organisations and young people from across the city and moderated by an internal team from the council.
To find out more about the City Ideas Fund, email cityideasfund@wolverhampton.gov.uk.
